The German giants -- who could only draw with Nurnburg -- have endured a miserable campaign and currently are fourth in the Bundesliga table, 13 points behind Borussia Dortmund. Bayer Leverkusen boss Jupp Heynckes will replace Van Gaal at the end of the season.

Jakub Blaszczykowski's equaliser earned leaders Dortmund a 1-1 draw with Hamburg, as Leverkusen closed the gap at the top to five points with a 2-1 win over St Pauli.

Elsewhere, Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona came from behind to beat Almeria 3-1 on Saturday, while Real Madrid's revival continued with a Kaka-inspired 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao. The Brazilian scored twice from the penalty spot, with Cristiano Ronaldo adding the third after coming off the bench.

In Italy, Napoli continued to keep the pressure on AC Milan at the top of Serie A with a 2-0 victory over Bologna yesterday.

Goals from Guiseppe Mascara and Marek Hamsik were enough for Italy's surprise package, but although they went temporarily level with the Rosseneri, Milan reasserted their lead with a 2-0 win of their own over Fiorentina.